The 2006 Civic is a really great car with many improvements over the previous generation. The only concern I have is the mileage. With the '06, I am getting a consistent 40mpg with mixed driving. I have about 7500 miles on it and I have never experienced it running in electric motor only mode as advertised. I am an experienced Hybrid driver and know how to coax every last mile from my hybrid but 40 mpg seems tops city or highway.
My '03 Civic was a manual but the hype on the '06 said it was better than the previous model even with the CVT. The CVT is nice as it can slow the engine RPM to about 2,000 rpm at 70mph which make a nice ride.

Anyway my 03 mileage went down when it was really cold but I averaged about 48mpg and sometimes getting as high as 54mpg. Usually mileage would go up when driving in town. - I calcualed mileage when filling the tank. My record best was 832mi on one tank of gas (do the math- the tank will hold over 3 gal more than the 13.2gal spec. when filled to the top) That was hard to beat - I passed lots of gas stations with the 03 Civic.

The bottom line is even during warm weather, highway driving etc, the new Civic mileage seems to be lacking... Are your experiences the same?

 

Hi,

In order to get to the electric only mode, when crusing, a minor depress on the accelerator will get you instantenous milage consumption to max out at 100mpg. When it's done you are electric only. Slowly press the accelerator and you will see the assist bar going up without having you milage gage to go down. You'll get use to it once you'll get it. You'll ear the motor when it restart.

 

I've been getting 55 on my 35 mile commute each way going to work and 47 returning. I usually leave when traffic is less busy in the morning and return during rush hour. This is predominately highway driving although in california that doesn't mean much.

 

Your 06 is not broken in yet.
You MPG will improve when it is broken in.

Plus the manual 03 got about 3 MPG better than the 03 CVT.

 

For me...my MPG seems the same in my '06 and my previous '04. My commute is a hilly 6 miles so I don't get the same fantastic numbers as the other members do.

 

Mine doesn't seem to run on electric only -the Honda web page says the 06 Civic runs up to 35mph on the electric motor alone, but the manual is very vague. - I'll ask the dealer to look into this at service but even they seem a little unclear of how it is supposed to work for the '06...

 

Hi;

Your 06 HCH II does-not take off from a stand-stiill and go up to 35 MPH on the Electric only Motor.

The Toyota Prius does this and that is why the Prius gets the FE (Fuel Economy) in town.

The HCH II beats the Prius on the Hwy. but not in town. Just to do a Heads-Up with you on the Electric Power Mode of the HCH II. (IMO) In-My-Opinion it is really difficult to get the car to run on just the Electric only Mode. There have been many Threads and Post here talking and discussing just that. It will do it under Certain Conditions, but if your driving anything approaching the normal traffic flow, {FORGET IT}.

HTH;

Terry
BTW, I know this is not what you wanted to here, but it is however the truth.

 

Turok - While you're probably practiced in DWL, the '06 Civic can be deceptive with the iFCD reporting. At a steady-state cruise, until you get in the mid-50's, speed-wise, you should be able to keep the iFCD at a good 3-4 bars past the 50mpg marker, depending on temperature and incline, without losing speed. However, the iFCD likes to settle about 3-4 bars *below* 50mpg. Thus, instead of "+20%" territory, you're looking at "-20%" territory. My first two weeks with the car, I had to be careful not to keep the pedal pressed farther down than it really needed to be.

The really, really sweet spot seems to be between 40-48mph. At those speeds, I can almost peg the meter sometimes (at 30-39mph cruise, I *can* peg it at will, practically), and I'm often at 75mpg+ on the meter.

This is temperature dependent - today, I had 35F temps on my 21mi commute to work(suburban/ secondary highway), and managed 58.4 on the averaging display - a new high for me.

At 7500mi, you should be well down the path to initial break-in. I only have 2000 on mine right now, and I'm in far Northern IL - very cold the past few weeks. Try adjusting your foot pressure a bit, and see if the results don't improve.

The EV-mode takes some practice. Again, my first two weeks with the car, I found it tricky to engage, but now, it's pretty much second nature. If you lift your foot off the accelerator (not completely off, but cover), and then engage it gently, you can get the mode to engage. One scenario is in city traffic where you're going about 30 or so, and the traffic in front of you slows, so you slow a bit to maintain your buffer. When you press gently on the go pedal again, you'll find EV mode engages for a second or two until you press farther. You'll feel the car 'jump' ever so subtly - even slighter than when the CVT re-engages from a no-load state at speed.

I use the EV-mode deliberately when in a slow-speed situation like my office park or neighborhood - and sometimes when in rush-hour traffic for those 15-20mph crawl situations. In fact, because of this mode, the '06 Civic Hybrid is the first vehicle I've driven where I can actually *increase* my mileage in those types of situations.

Another thing about the EV-mode. It takes a sharp eye / ear to catch it - because I can often initially engage it with ZERO bars of assist showing. Here's how you'll know you're 'in the zone' (besides seeing the 0-4 bars of assist)...

- Your tach will be at 1100rpm
- Your iFCD will shoot up to max
- Your will lose speed much more slowly than if you were coasting, but generally, you'll lose speed. If on a downhill, it's possible to actually *gain* a mph or so.
- Your engine will be a lot quieter - almost silent (the lower end is still turning in the block, because the crank is connected to the motor - but you'll definitely tell the difference).

Depending on your SoC, and your speed requirement, you can hold this state for a good amount of time - I've had some good 1/4 to 1/2mi stretches with this - and your averaging display will show the benefit rather quickly. While it can be invoked at highway speeds (some report engaging it at 55-60mph), I generally find it kicking in at the lower speeds, and don't try to invoke it if I'm on the Interstate.

The one downside of our little 1.3L engine seems to be at 55mph or better - it's harder for me to keep the iFCD in that "+20%" territory without losing speed. So for now, I'm content for 65mpg iFCD display in that scenario. Hopefully, things will improve with temperature and miles.

And that is the truth from my perspective, having actually *driven* the car on a (near-)daily basis for 33 days as of today.

 

I wish that the IMA could at maintain a speed at 35-40 mph in EV mode...

I found other sweet spots also, besides the 49... there is one at 61 and another at 78, at least on my car... takes some practice but you can drive and get 75mpg at 61mph and 58mpg at 78mph